


snow drifts

by amorekay



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M, Gen, Holidays, Nightmares, families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 13:16:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13590834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amorekay/pseuds/amorekay
Summary: The nightmare sends her spiraling back into consciousness, the line between dreams and reality still blurring as she scrambles for something to cling to. Her fingers land on the soft fabric of a pajama shirt, and she tugs at the sleeve. Jeremie comes to life with a bleary "—what?" (Aelita spends the holiday at Jeremie's parents' house, episode tag for #82 - Distant Memory)





	snow drifts

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to ff.net as part of a compilation of prompt drabbles [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8635563/25/Prompt-Drabbles) for the prompt 'Nightmare.' Also, I totally rec listening to Tori Amos' Winter for some feelings about Aelita and her past.

The nightmare sends her spiraling back into consciousness, the line between dreams and reality still blurring as she scrambles for something to cling to. Her fingers land on the soft fabric of a pajama shirt, and she tugs at the sleeve. Jeremie comes to life with a bleary "—what?"

"Jeremie," she whispers. Her voice catches in her throat and she swallows, rubbing her face as she feels the hot splash of tears against her cheek. Jeremie gropes in the darkness for his glasses out of habit, reaching for his desk, but he isn't in his dorm room and his glasses are still on his face. He pulls them off and cleans them with his shirt, then puts them back on and frowns at Aelita through the lenses. "Aelita? —Aelita!" Suddenly he sits up straight, voice flustered, and backs up to the other edge of the couch.

She rubs at her face again, and he pauses. "Oh! Aelita — is, is everything all right? It's not—"

"A nightmare." She says, and then laughs, the sound rough even to her own ears. "The same one. It's not big deal, Jeremie. I just… panicked a little before I woke up completely."

He looks at her and shifts his weight, hesitating, before he looks away to turn on the lamp beside the couch. His laptop sits on the coffee table, and Jeremie pulls it into his lap, opening the lid and clicking through his habitual checks. Aelita rubs at her temples, trying to escape the last of the forest and the fear in her head, grounding herself by looking around Jeremie's parents' living room.

They must have dozed off, she realizes, in the middle of the movie they'd been watching. But the TV screen is silent now, and the room is only illuminated by the glow of Jeremie's laptop and the small lamp, so Jeremie's parents must have come through on their way upstairs — she blushes. Jeremie's parents had made their approval of her very clear during the couple days she'd been here, and their frequent fond hinting at their son's affection for her keeps leaving her a strange mix of flustered, flattered and embarrassed.

Jeremie, oblivious to her thoughts, closes his laptop — clearly satisfied that XANA isn't up to anything new. Despite how sure he'd sounded about XANA not attacking again while they were on holiday, he's kept all his programs running, and he checks the news often for any sign of trouble. With XANA still silently hanging over their heads, the break still didn't feel as much like a break as Aelita thought it should. She sighs. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"Tomorrow, Aelita, my dad planned for us to—"

She looks away from Jeremie, shutting him out as the guilt rises up in her chest. She clenches her hands into fists, frustrated and angry at herself.

"Aelita?"

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. If XANA attacks, and I'm here… Who knows what damage he could do before we'd be able to get to the factory." She shakes her head. "I'm so glad to be here with you and your family, Jeremie, but I shouldn't have accepted, it's my responsibility to stop XANA, I—"

"Aelita." Jeremie reaches out to grab her hand, his palm timid but warm against hers. "We took extra precautions, I have all the alerts in place, we know XANA's patterns. You deserve a break. and …I-I like you here. This is the best vacation I've ever had, because, you're here with me."

She looks at him and the earnest look on his face, and the rush of affection she feels is almost enough to drown out her guilt. She wants to be here, with him and his family, in this house full of love — but. Jeremie's grip on her hand tightens. "Don't worry," he says. "We have it covered. I thought of everything."

"Okay," she smiles carefully. "I won't worry. But, I'm getting tired, Jeremie. I think I should go to bed." She squeezes his hand one last time and then slips off the couch, padding silently up the stairs. When she turns and looks down at him from the landing, he's already making the couch into his makeshift bed. He waves a good night to her, smiling widely, and she smiles and mouths 'good night' back before going to wash her face in the bathroom down the hall.

But she still can't shake the sense of unease, and it lingers heavy against her chest as she lies in bed in Jeremie's room and stares at the ceiling. She thinks about her father, and the illusion of her life XANA had trapped her in just days ago. The tears come, unbidden, again.

When she finally falls asleep, she dreams about her mother.


End file.
